There's really no one in our current society who has not been touched by divorce. Perhaps someone in your family is divorced, or a close friend--perhaps you yourself. Marriage just isn't taken very seriously by far too many people. But as Scripture records very directly: God hates divorce. (Mal. 2:16)
Jesus faced a divorce epidemic in His own day. He was asked about marriage law in Matt. 19. There He reaffirmed God's intention for man and woman 'from the beginning': 'What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.' (vs. 6) There is an exception for the cause of adultery (vs. 9), but in God's law there isn't a 'no fault' divorce. We have become all too tolerant of something God hates.
Recent studies have shown that there is no real difference in the divorce rate among those attending church and the society at large:
Church leaders attribute the discrepancy between belief and behavior in Christian marriages to the pervasive influence of the culture of individualism, narcissism and consumerism.
That sounds about right. George Barna, who conducted one of the studies had this to say:
"We haven't done a good job of helping people to know how to integrate their faith into every dimension of their life," said pollster George Barna.
"What we wind up with are people who know some of the principles and stories and platitudes, but when push comes to shove, it's survival of the fittest."
We've got to do a better job of teaching about marriage. Are God's laws on marriage 'hard'? Well, the disciples thought so. 'If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry,' they said. (Matt. 19:10) Jesus essentially answered, if that's the way you feel about it, then don't get married. No one's forcing you to--the kingdom is more important than any personal relationship.
It's time we all started taking marriage as seriously as God does.
No comments:
Post a Comment